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The news has reignited the overheated public debate over the two prevailing hypotheses for the origin of Covid-19, but the case remains far from closed
This week’s revelation that a top US scientific agency has joined the FBI in leaning toward a lab accident in China as the most likely source of the Covid pandemic has once again surfaced the entrenched politics that have impeded the search for answers since day one.
The new assessment is contained in a classified intelligence report, first disclosed by and later confirmed by . It is a small, yet important development in what has been the largely stalled search for how the SARS-CoV-2 virus – which was first detected in Wuhan, China – made its initial jump to infect humans before spreading around the world and killing millions.
Alison Young is an investigative reporter in Washington, DC, and serves as the Curtis B Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting for the Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri. Her book, , will be released in April.

Chinese animal lovers say the condition of a panda in Memphis Zoo is a result of neglect but the zoo says a skin condition is to blame for the state of its fur.

As tensions build, the Chinese subsidiaries of U.S. venture capital firms invest in technology that could be sensitive to national security.

Year-long study finds China leads in 37 of 44 areas it tracked, with potential for a monopoly in areas such as nanoscale materials and synthetic biology
The United States and other western countries are losing the race with China to develop advanced technologies and retain talent, with Beijing potentially establishing a monopoly in some areas, a new report has said.
China leads in 37 of 44 technologies tracked in a year-long project by thinktank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The fields include electric batteries, hypersonics and advanced radio-frequency communications such as 5G and 6G.

Foreign ministers from the world's biggest economies convened in New Delhi Thursday in what was seen as a grand test for Indian diplomacy, which ultimately didn't succeed in reaching a consensus ...

Ms. Lummis originally penned the following op-ed in mid-February for The Hill, an American newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged attempts by China to meddle in elections but has resisted launching a public inquiry
Canadian opposition parties stepped up their push for a broad public inquiry into alleged foreign election interference, particularly by China, a move that Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau has not yet endorsed.
Recent media reports have alleged ongoing Chinese interference in Canada’s elections, with Trudeau this week denying one article saying his office was told by Canada’s spy agency to drop a Chinese Canadian candidate in 2019 because of his ties to Beijing.

Annual event led by Xi Jinping often delivers major policy announcements, with significant constitutional revisions also possible this year
China’s annual “two sessions” meetings begin on Saturday, with major reforms and government appointments expected, as well as the final formalisation of Xi Jinping’s

Asian stock markets are mixed after signs of enduring upward pressure on American prices added to expectations of higher interest rates for longer ...

FBI chief’s endorsement of Covid lab leak theory highlights the tussle between hawks and doves within the administration
The FBI chief, Chris Wray, has endorsed the theory that the Covid pandemic was the result of a laboratory leak in China, further sharpening an increasingly combative bilateral relationship.
In , Wray, who was appointed by Donald Trump, was also taking sides in an internal debate over Covid’s origins, which has become a proxy for a broader tussle between hawks and doves within the administration.

Manufacturing activity rose in February to its highest level in more than a decade, bolstering China’s recovery after restrictions paralyzed much of the country.

Republican committee chair describes Chinese-owned social app as a ‘spy balloon in your phone’
A powerful US House committee has applied further pressure to TikTok by backing legislation that could give Joe Biden the power to ban the social video app.
The House foreign affairs committee voted on Wednesday along party lines to grant the administration new powers to ban the Chinese-owned app as well as other apps believed to pose security risks. The fate of the measure is still uncertain and it would need to be passed by the full House and Senate before it can go to Biden.